Day 17 - The Heard Museum, Phoenix

The Heard Museum located in downtown Phoenix is a museum of Native American art and history. We visited the new Smithsonian Native American Museum a couple of years ago and like The Heard even better. It is a user friendly museum just loaded with amazing art and information. This museum touched my heart. Its beautiful art objects brought joy to my heart. But the stories of how we abused the Indians made me so sad.

I was brought to tears by the story of the Mojave Indians whose land was destroyed by our government. Their sacred mesquite trees and their beautiful willow trees were burned and uprooted before their eyes to prepare the land for farming. For 25 to 35 years the government developed 88,000 acres destroying not only their beautiful land but their culture as well. The mesquite tree was used by the Mojave from birth to death. Its wood was used to make cradles, the sap was used to make their hair black, it provided fruit, it provided shade by day and heat by night, and its wood was used in the cremation ceremony. Loss of the mesquite tree very negatively impacted the Mojave culture.

I was brought to tears by the stories of children as young as five years old being forcibly taken from their families to Indian boarding schools all over the US. The only reason any Native Americans survive today is that our government decided it was more cost effective to institute a Federal School System to educate each Indian child for 8 years than to kill them. The goals of Indian schools were to educate Indian children, convert them to Christianity, make them good American citizens, and give them vocational training. They were forbidden to speak their native languages and grew up ignorant of their native traditions and cultures.

Thankfully, beautiful Indian art survived through the centuries and is still being produced today. The tens of thousands of adult Native Americans who graduated from Indian Schools in operation from 1879-2000 are now relearning their cultures. I left the museum hopeful that this great country will never again repeat such offenses against another race. Unfortunately, I see many in this country who would disregard human rights in the name of smaller government at any cost. Where is their compassion? I believe compassion to have been the major ingredient in the success of this country. May we learn from history and go forth with love in our hearts for our fellow man.